The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to a system and a method for analyzing a multidimensional patient profile and, more particularly, but not exclusively, to a system and a method for analyzing a multidimensional patient profile that includes a medical image.
Systems and devices for visualizing the inside of living organisms are among the most important medical developments in the last thirty years. Systems like computerized tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a positron emission tomography (PET), and a single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) scanners allow physicians to examine internal tissues or areas of the body that require a thorough examination. In use, the visualizing scanner outputs a 3D medical image, such as a sequence of computerized cross-sectional images of one or more tissues, which is then interpreted by specialized radiologists.
It should be noted that other imaging devices and methods are also known, for example as disclosed in International patent application Pub. No. WO2006/051531, which has been published on May 18, 2006 and incorporated herein by reference. This patent application describes an apparatus for radiation based imaging of a non-homogenous target area having distinguishable regions therein. The apparatus comprises an imaging unit designed to obtain radiation intensity data from the target region in the spatial dimensions and one or more other dimensions. The apparatus further comprises an image four-dimension analysis unit associated with the imaging unit for analyzing said obtained intensity data in the spatial dimension, and the one or more other dimensions, in order to map the distinguishable regions.
Commonly, a patient is referred for a visual scan by a general practitioner or an expert practitioner. The 3D medical image is forwarded to and diagnosed by a general radiologist who is responsible for the analysis and diagnosis of the medical image. The medical images and the diagnosis thereof are sent back to the referring practitioner.
In most hospitals and radiology centers, the 3D medical images are transferred to a picture archiving communication system (PACS) before being accessed by the radiologists. The PACS is installed on one or more of computers, which are dedicated for storing, retrieving, distributing and presenting the stored 3D medical images. The 3D medical images are stored in an independent format. The most common format for image storage is digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM).
Typically, a PACS network consists of a central server that stores a database containing the images connected to one or more clients via a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN) which provide or utilize the images. Web-based PACS is becoming more and more common: these systems utilize the Internet as their means of communication, usually via a virtual private network (VPN) or a secure sockets layer (SSL). The software in thin or smart client is loaded via ActiveX, Java, or .NET Framework. Definitions vary, but most claim that for a system to be truly web based, each individual image should have its own URL. Client workstations can use local peripherals for scanning image films into the system, printing image films from the system and interactive display of digital images. Modern radiology equipment, modalities, feed patient images directly to the PACS in digital form. For backwards compatibility, most hospital imaging departments and radiology practices employ a film digitizer.
Computer aided detection (CAD) systems that assist physicians in diagnosing pathological, traumatic, or healthy indications are known. However, these CAD system are usually based on fixed expert rules and a closed list of treatments. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,188,988 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,081,786, which have been granted on Feb. 13, 2001, disclose systems, methods and computer program products for guiding selection of a therapeutic treatment regimen for a known disease such as HIV infection, are disclosed. The method comprises providing patient information to a computing device (the computer device comprising: a first knowledge base comprising a plurality of different therapeutic treatment regimens for the disease; a second knowledge base comprising a plurality of expert rules for selecting a therapeutic treatment regimen for the disease; and a third knowledge base comprising advisory information useful for the treatment of a patient with different constituents of the different therapeutic treatment regimens; and generating in the computing device a listing (preferably a ranked listing) of therapeutic treatment regimens for the patient; and generating in the computing device advisory information for one or more treatment regimens in the listing based on the patient information and the expert rules.